Bounce in their step

Cavemen get lift from trey

Cavemen get lift from trey

January 28, 2006|MATT KOPSEA Tribune Staff Writer

MISHAWAKA -- Colin Wojtysiak was convinced the biggest shot of the night wasn't going in. Instead, a kind bounce off the rim Friday night at The Cave resulted in a key fourth-quarter 3-pointer for the 5-foot-11 senior guard, helping Mishawaka pull away for a 50-39 victory over visiting Adams in Northern Indiana Conference basketball action. Although it didn't look pretty, Wojtysiak's triple from the left corner allowed the Cavemen (13-2, 4-0 NIC) to build their slim cushion up to 45-38 with 1:41 remaining in the game. It also started an 8-1 Mishawaka run to close out the contest and allowed the hosts to keep their share of the top spot in the NIC with Penn. "I thought there was no way that shot was going in, but I guess I was lucky to get some help from the rim to get it to go down," said Wojtysiak, who netted seven of his 11 points in the fourth quarter. "Actually, I felt my first two (3-point) attempts had a better chance than that one, but I'm not complaining." During the timeout prior to his heroics, Wojtysiak actually inquired about taking a long-range shot. "I told him he could take it only if he was going to make it," joked Mishawaka coach Robb Berger. "Looking back at it now, it proved to be the turning point in the game. It gave us some breathing room and changed it from a one- to a two-possession game." Behind a balanced attack, the Cavemen enjoyed the early momentum by grabbing a 15-11 lead after the first quarter. Even with leading scorer Mark Stevenson battling flu-like symptoms, Adams (7-8, 3-2) managed to grab some momentum heading into halftime. The 6-2 junior tallied seven points in the second quarter as the Eagles used a 13-6 spurt to take a 24-21 cushion into the locker room. Despite going nearly 11 minutes without a field goal during the second and third quarters, Adams still maintained a three-point lead heading into the final stanza. This was compliments of Trent Bonds' buzzer-beating 3-pointer. The Eagles would just manage two buckets the rest of the way, though, including none over the final 3:21. In the meantime, it was Wojtysiak and Craig Heatherly to the rescue for Mishawaka. Wojtysiak's two free throws at the 6:29 mark of the fourth quarter gave the Cavemen the lead for good at 34-33, while Heatherly netted eight of his 15 points down the stretch. "Although we struggled offensively at times, I was proud of the way we played defense tonight," said Berger. "We gave ourselves a chance to stay in the game until we finally put it away at the free-throw line." During the fourth period, Mishawaka connected on 13-of-16 from the charity stripe, compared to just 4-of-6 for the Eagles. "This game wound up being decided at the free-throw line," said Adams coach Pat King. "I thought both teams played pretty good defense. However, it seemed like whenever the whistle blew that we were the ones who suffered the most tonight." Bonds and Stevenson had nine points apiece, while Carl Steen and Will Winston chipped in eight each for the Eagles. Davon Williams added nine points and eight boards for the Cavemen.